The Dancing Wheels Company will offer audiences a unique opportunity to enjoy the artistic vision of the Company's current and former dancers. The concert exclusively presented by Company members only will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2012 at the Trinity Cathedral, 2242 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.
The intimate concert entitled Fast Forward/Rewind will be a wonderful mix of duets, solos, and full ensemble works (full list below) that evolved from the dancers' desires to branch out and spread their wings as choreographers. Under the guidance of Artistic Advisor, Mark Tomasic, Rehearsal Director, Catherine Meredith, and Founding Artistic Director, Mary Verdi-Fletcher, seven of the Company dancers emerged as innovative choreographers creating seven premiere works that run the gamut of mood, emotion, and imagination.
Restaged for Fast Forward/Rewind is the exceptional work of former Company members Mark Tomasic and Michael Medcalf. Ms. Meredith stated, "They were the first company members to take from their experiences in partnering wheelchair dancers and bring it to the stage with dances that have been long lasting favorites in the Company's repertory."
Board Chair, Ms. Kerry Agins will lead a post performance audience talk back with the dancers and choreographers followed by a champagne reception in the lobby. Tickets are $15 per person. Discount tickets for groups of 10 or more are $10 each. General seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased online at www.dancingwheels/order.asp or by phone at 216-432-0306.
Dancing with my Demons by Ryan Dick is a duet that explores the physical manifestation of internal conflicts.
Let It Take You by Dezaré Foster provides a high energy sextet that demonstrates strong translations between stand-up and sit-down dance technique.
Innate Circle by Samantha Fox is a quintet inspired by the generalities of simple community expressive human nature.
Proud Mary by Daniel Isaah Henderson employs a full ensemble of ten dancers with high energy music and uplifting spirit.
jeune fille by Emma Parker's is a solo for a wheelchair dancer, expressing unspoken equalities that encompass the bond's our souls despite our differences.
Despite Discouraging Doubts by Franklin Polk is about the complexities of a group setting and the challenges that arise when working together.
Revolutions by Sara Lawrence-Sucato is a work in progress with an ensemble section for 10 dancers and a duet for a stand-up and sit-down dancer. Lawrence-Sucato's choreography explores concepts of spirituality and the circle of life inspired in part by Alvin Aley's iconic masterwork, Revelations.
The Company will also bring back Michael Medcalf's TimeSpent with music from Scent of a Woman. This piece reflects the life and times of a romantically connected couple who happen to be disabled and their journey through life – separate and apart.
A World Premiere - The Dancing Wheels Company will perform Mark Tomasic's latest work for the Company, Concerto DW, which is a choreographic response to Vivaldi's pulse quickening and expressive Concerto in C for Mandolin.
For more than three decades, the Dancing Wheels Company & School has thrived under the artistic leadership of President/Founding Artistic Director Mary Verdi-Fletcher. The Company has traveled the globe, reaching more than five million individuals through its inspiring and masterful performances, award winning outreach, educational programs and guest appearances. With a vast repertory of nearly fifty works from nationally esteemed choreographers, the Company brings inventive, provocative and poignant performances to the stage, changing the face of artistic possibilities. The Dancing Wheels School, coordinated and administrated by Emma Parker, serves over 2,000 children and adults with and without disabilities. The School offers a myriad of outreach and in-reach classes and workshops making arts programming available to students of all abilities.
The Dancing Wheels season is generously supported by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, MetLife Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, Bruening Foundation, Emerson Process Management, The George Gund Foundation, The Kulas Foundation, The Kuhn Family Foundation, John P. Murphy Foundation, Invacare, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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